But did you know that at least 12 of those bottles form the backbone for every one of Nike’s federation kits — the very uniforms worn in Russia this summer?

Nike is the number-one user of recycled polyester in the industry.

For both Nike’s Fast Fit Vaporknit kits (worn by Brasil, Croatia, England, Nigeria, Poland and Portugal) and Nike’s Match jerseys (worn by Australia, Saudi Arabia and South Korea), the process involves melting down 12 or 18 recycled plastic drinking bottles, respectively, to produce a fine yarn. The bottles are cleaned, shredded into flakes then converted into pellets. From there, the pellets are melted and extruded into the high-quality yarn used to create the kits, delivering peak performance with a lower impact on the environment.